The Echo
by Gnat1
Summary: Last minute escapades, traveling through places perfect for speed. It was a pattern that echoed throughout his life. It all seems too convenient, in which it is. Sonic's fondest memories are crumbling before his very eyes. As Sonic and Tails try to stop the surrounding madness, they learn a dark secret Mobius has kept hidden for decades. A secret they're better off not knowing.
1. Before it all Began

**-22 years ago-**

The figure hovered over the jungle. The ocean scent engulfing the air.  
The lush forest surrounding him. The jungle animals moving this way  
and that. The peace. The natural sounds. The unlikeliness of any  
change coming.

Wrong.

The figure raised his hand above his head. It was time to test his  
full potential of power. As his hand raised, and he focused, the  
ground below him seemed to change. He rotated his hand, forming a loop  
perfecly carved in the dirt. With precise movement, he formed a  
mountain, then drove a pure ray of oxygen through it, creating a small  
tunnel. He spiraled his hand, causing the ground to rise into a mound.  
A thinner strip of earth came out of the mound, spiraling around. The  
figure bent both arms, causing more ground to rise into a steep turn.  
Then, using all his concentration, he separated the different kinds of  
earth, making the ground appear to be made of squares colored brown  
and tan. He focused harder, allowing the grass to grow. He stopped  
focusing, as well as hovering.

He fell. With a hard landing in the jungle, which was now but a small  
patch, he surveyed what he had just created. The landscape had changed  
drasticly, looking completely different. His powers worked. His years  
of training made him succesfull.

**-21 years ago-**

"So, your this Robotnick fellow I've heard about"

"And your the little nuisance who destroyed all my work here! Well, my  
hovercraft comes well equiped."

"Whatever, 'Eggman'"

"What did you just call me?!"

The figure watched the Mobian and Human argue, with intense interest.  
He informed Robotnick of this land earlier, and allowed him to use it  
for his purposes. He never expected a blue hedgehog to come! He turned  
and hovered up to angel island. He must speak to Chaos.

"Chaos" he began, upon reaching the master emerald. "This creature, he  
stopped all of it."

"I am well aware of this. This is his first victory, followed by many. Come, Let me show things to come for him in the future."

Chaos created a hologram within the master emerald. Many things  
appeared as the god of Destruction resumed speaking.

"My watcher, Knuckles, will battle this creature, after I tell him to.  
But he will then join forces with him. Robotnick will enslave me to  
help him. I will become Perfect Chaos, but be defeated by him. I will  
forgive him. The ARK will threaten to destroy earth, Metal Sonic will  
become a monster, Mephiles shall rise. The Black Arms will attack,  
This mobian will become a werehog, Robotnick will create and  
Interstellar Amusement Park. A creature will erase all time and  
space." The hologram stopped. The figure inhaled deeply.

"When all this is over, will it be time to put Mobius to rest?"

"Why?"

"Everything must end. You are the god of destruction, I am the master  
of telekinesis. I began all of this. If it wasnt for me, Robotnick  
wouldnt BE in this jungle I have changed so drasticly. I will continue  
designing Mobius like this, it is my pattern, my order, my Echo. I've  
had my fun. Mobians call it Mobius. Humans call it Earth. I call it  
One, and it will end after all these events are accomplished."

"In the hands of whom?"

"Mine."

"Very well, do as you wish. This landscape you created, it is to be  
the first of many?"

"Correct."

"What is the name of this landscape, then?"

The figure thought, before answering. "Green Hill Zone".

**A/N: confused? more will be explained later, I promise. This is only**  
**the prolouge, after all. PM me if you have any questions. Please R&R.**


	2. Flat Hill Zone

**Disclaimer: Sonic belongs to SEGA. I only own this plot, and one of**  
**the characters.**

-Chapter 2: Flat Hill Zone-

-Modern Time-

Knuckles sat beside the Master Emerald. He gazed at the lush jungle in  
the distance. Memories flew throughout his mind. When he first met  
Sonic... When the Master Emerald was shattered by Chaos... When Eggman  
revealed he could destroy the world within three days... When he ran  
into that cat from another dimension... The horrible Time Eater... and  
its demise. He sighed as he drifted off to sleep, dreaming of old  
adventures.

_"...Knuckles..."_

Hmm? Was that... a voice? He opened his eyes and stood up, trying to  
find the origin of whatever he heard.

Nothing.

With another sigh, he laid down again.

_"...Knuckles..."_

Okay, he was POSITIVE someone just spoke.

_"...Knuckles... it is I..."_

Ah Ha. It was coming from the... Master Emerald? He turned to look at  
it, only to be engulfed in a bright light. When it faded, he found  
himself on top of a temple, in the middle of Mystic Ruins. He must  
have time travelled, because this "ancient town" was thriving with  
life. Purple Echidnas scurried on the roads at the foot of the temple.  
He had to be seeing the ancient Knuckles Tribe.

_"...Knuckles... I wish to speak with you..."_

He turned to see a puddle of water by the entrance to the temple.  
Slowly, the puddle rose to become what appeared to be an echidna-like  
being made of water.

"C-Chaos?" Knuckles asked.

"Knuckles." Chaos answered, "A great danger is approaching. Greater  
than anything you have ever faced."

"Wh-What is it?"

"A creature, well, a mobian. He is one of few with possesing  
telekinetic powers."

"Like what Silver has?"

"No. Much, much more than the white hedgehog. This is different."

"How so?"

"..."

"Sir?"

"...Everything. Can the white one bend all of reality?"

"Is that even possible?"

"For this mobian, yes. He... he once used his powers wisely, helping  
the affairs of humans and mobians alike... but then he used Chaos  
Energy."

"How did that effect him?"

"Did you ever wonder why they are called 'Chaos Emeralds'?"

"Arent they named after you?"

"The word 'chaos' refers to destruction, confusion... and madness."

"Madness?"

"You and your friends use its energies as a tool, but when you use it  
when you ALREADY have great power, well... it begins affecting your  
mind. This mobian has gone mad. All of his creations he is destroying.  
He believes it is time for Mobius to end."

"What creations are these?"

"I think you will know... in time."

"Who is this mobian?"

"..."

"...Chaos?"

"He is... the Echo."

"The Echo?"

"Prepare yourself, Knuckles. The end is nigh"

"No, wait!"

He was too late, the area became engulfed in light, and he found  
himself back in front of the Master Emerald. He sat down, breathing  
hard, and thinking of what Chaos had said.

VvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvV

"Yo, Tails!" Sonic said, skidding to a halt. He had been running  
through Green Hill Zone at top speed, when he found his little bro  
waiting for him.

"Hey, Sonic" came the reply, "Er... Knuckles wanted to see us about  
sumthin' this evening. Also, Amy wanted to see when you could stop by.

Sonic groaned. "Tell Knucklehead I'll be there, Tell Amy I'm sick with amnesia."

Tails rolled his eyes. "Amnesia is memory-loss, Sonic. Not a sickness."

"Whatever." Sonic said, not seeming to care anymore.

Suddenly, everything began to shake, while dust rose everywhere in  
Green Hill. Sonic could barely see, but he made out an outline of a  
orange, amphibian-like creature hovering about a hundred feet away. He  
closed his eyes until the rumbling stopped. He looked around as the  
dust began to clear. He couldnt exactly see, but he had to find  
something important.

"Tails? TAILS!" he called. A muffled reply came from a mound of dirt.  
He ran over and dug the fox out.

"Thanks" Tails said, brushing dirt off, "What exactly happened?"

"I dunno" Sonic said as he looked around. The dust had cleared, and he  
took in what he saw with shock. The hills, the loops, the spirals,  
everything, had vanished, or sunk into the ground. All of the totem  
polls, springs, item boxes, and checkpoint markers were there, but on  
flat ground. Green Hill Zone had been reduced to a flat land.

**A/N: Not bad, I would say. What did you guys think? Please PM me if**  
**there are questions you have. Remember to R&R, I greatly appriciate**  
**it!**

**Ciao!**


	3. The Battle of Emerald Coast

**A/N: Hey guys. So... the action should step up in this chapter. I would like to thank Tails absolution, LordoftheGhostKing28, and ExotheBoss for reviewing. I would also like to thank PenFullofChaos28 (did I get the name correct?) and Syaoran the Fox for inspiring me to write this fic. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: SEGA owns Sonic, not me.**

Sonic was shocked, to say the least. Green Hill Zone, after years of rushing through, breaking the sound barrier, all the memories... gone. It now remained a flat land, wedged between a jungle and the ocean. After some time, Sonic left for Angel Island, Tails close behind him. It wasnt long before they reached their destination.

"No need to explain, Sonic. I saw everything." Knuckles said after meeting the duo.

"How did you see it?" Tails asked.

"The Master Emerald. Chaos is giving me visions through it. Thats why I wanted to meet you guys, I've spoken to Chaos, and he brought bad news."

"How?" Sonic asked, "I didnt even know Chaos talked!" Doesnt Tikal usually do that for him?"

"I guess the matter was serious enough that he had to speak."

"Correct, Knuckles. Correct." a voice said. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles turned to see Chaos emerging out from a portal in the Master Emerald.

"Now..." Chaos began. "Lets get down to bussiness. Tikal will come later. Green Hill, as you Mobians call it, was destroyed by what you could call a madman. His powers are great. Far greater than what was thought to be possible... But that doesnt matter. Green Hill shall be the first of many, unless we do something about it. You see, this creature, whom goes by the name Echo, can bend nearly all of reality." Sonic lifted an eyebrow at this, and then spoke. "Do you know where this Echo is right now?"

"I'm sensing his energies coming from... Emerald Coast." Chaos replied.

Tails' eyes widened at this. "Sonic! There's a whole resort at Emerald Coast! If he's planning on doing what he did to Green Hill again, thousands of people will be hurt!"

"Tails is right." Knuckles said. "Chaos, should we go?"

"I cant stop you from leaving. But time is of the essence. If you want Emerald Coast to survive, you should hurry." came the reply.

"Alright, guys. Lets move!" Sonic said, as he sped off with his two companions. Chaos watched them leave.

"Dont act foolishly... it will only get you killed. Be careful..."

VvVvVvVvVvVvVvV

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles tore past multiple buildings in Station Square. They ran on the highway until they made it to the train station.

"Lets see..." Tails said, looking around. "If I remember correctly, the hotel should be to the left..." The trio moved from the train station and into the hotel. Inside, they saw thousands of people gathered around, while a man spoke through a mic.

"ATTENTION, EVERYONE!" the man said. "THIS IS AN EMERGANCY. PLEASE EXIT THROUGH MY RIGHT. AGAIN, THIS IS AN EMEREGANCY. STAY CALM, AND EXIT TO MY RIGHT." he pointed to the doors that Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles just entered through. A loud cheer erupted upon seeing the three Mobian legends enter.

"Whoa, talk about a reputation" Sonic said with a chuckle. He steered through the crowd.

They made it out and onto the coastline. Emerald Coast, to be presise. Sonic glanced around. He saw a figure floating over the dock. "Hey!" he said, "Thats the guy I saw at Green Hill!"

Tails squinted his eyes. "Hmm..." he said, "Orange shiny skin... he looks like a frog-ish lizard. Ah ha! Thats a salamander!". Sonic then led them up on the dock. He watched the salamander point his hand at a distant loop. By forming his hand into a fist, he caused the loop to crash to the ground.

"HEY!" Knuckles shouted, "WHATS THE DEAL, HUH? THINK YOU CAN DESTROY THE PLACE WITH YOUR BARE HANDS?!"

The figure remained silent. His face twisted into a creepy smile. "Knuckles..." He said after closing his eyes in thought, "Guardian of this 'Master Emerald'. I cant destroy it with my bare hands, yes? Care for me to test your theory?" with a motion of his hand, he caused the dock the trio was standing on to bend upwards, causing them to fall into the sand. Sonic spit sand out.

"Look, dude! What Knucklehead meant was that you have no right to destroy this, its stupid and crazy!"

The salamander smiled. "Arent we all a little crazy? And I have every right. I am Echo, forger of the lands. I didnt create this place, no, altered it is more like it."

"What are you talking about?!"

"Oh, forgive me. Dont tell me the hero of Mobius hasnt heard of one of its darker secrets. That would be ever so tragic. Please, enough of this. You are a waste of time, and I sense you will be a thorn in my side. Tell me, hedgehog, what do you fear? Oh, nevermind. Of course its water. Do you fancy it? I think not. Please, if you will, enjoy yourself. You think adventure is 'fun' after all." Echo raised both hands over the water, and caused a tsunami to form. Before it reached the shore, however, it changed into a giant man-like form. The water-made monster roared at Sonic.

"Oh, crap." Sonic managed to spit out, before being dragged by the monster to a nearby island. Knuckles and Tails tried to run after it, but were stopped by a wave of heavy mud, slamming them into the ground. The two cried out in pain as another wave hit them. Tails made it out and flew at Echo, but a tidal waved created by the salamander shoved him to the ocean's sandy bottom.

Knuckles had gotten up and was about to look for Sonic when a voice stopped him.

"I'll get Sonic, you stop this creep."

Knuckles turned to see a familiar black hedgehog.

"S-Shadow?" he asked, but Shadow had already taken off to the island.

Knuckles cracked his, well, his knuckles and glided toward the salamander. He was stopped by another tidal wave. "Crud." He said as he flew into the hotel, crashing through a window. The tidal waves were insanely strong. With a grunt, he got up and charged at the salamander, who created a giant loop of sand to roll over him. This time, Knuckles was ready. With a leap, he ran up the loop and leaped off, landing on another wave of mud. He slid down it and manged to leap off. A giant water wave formed and headed straight over him. He managed to use his namesake as a plow and shoved himself through the wave.

VvVvVvVvVvVvVvV

Sonic slammed into the lighthouse, the monster roaring in his face. Sonic ran off the lighthouse and into the jungle, which was on the island. He kept running until he got stuck between a rock wall and a cliff (all you guys who played Sonic Adventure should know what I'm talking about). Down the cliff was a river, which seemed to be rising as a colossal wave shot through it. Sonic could only guess what that meant.

"Oh no. Oh no no no no no." He said as the water monster rose from the river.

Shadow saw Sonic from atop the rock wall. He had to stop this thing. He had to take a chance. He watched as the monster rose over Sonic and prepared for the final strike. With a deep breath, he leaped downward and crashed into the monster. With a splash, he sank underwater into the depths of the monster, which, was just water. He took out his special weapon: the green Chaos Emerald. In a bubbly voice, he shouted two of his most powerful words, "Chaos... BLAST!". He felt a surge of energy erupt from his body as the monster exploded.

Sonic saw all of this, as water splashed over him. He saw Shadow, now in midair over the cliff. Before Shadow could fall, Sonic managed to zip over to the edge of the cliff and grab Shadow's arm.

"Thanks for the save, dude" he said as he pulled Shadow up.

"Your... welcome." came Shadow's gruff reply. "Lets check on the others." With that, he raised the chaos emerald above his head.

"Chaos... CONTROL!" he shouted, teleporting both him and Sonic back to the beach.

Knuckles was still manuvering through Echo's attacks. A mud wave finally slammed him into the ground. Echo prepared for the final strike. But if it wasnt for a certain twin-tailed fox, Echo would have finished him. Tails flew out of the water he had been floating in. He had stayed there while Knuckles seemed to be distracting him. With a battle cry, Tails kicked Echo in the gut, causing him to fall into the water.

"Nice move, Tails!" Knuckles praised. "Now, lets fish this creep out."

"Dont count on it", Tails said with disgust as he pointed to the water. There wasnt a trace of Echo. "He's a salamander." Tails continued, "Those things can swim like a rocket. He's miles away by now." Just then, a flash of light came as Sonic and Shadow appeared on the beach. Tails and Knuckles went to meet up with them. Cheers could be heard from the city as the civilians knew that Emerald Coast had been saved.

"There's no time for this." Sonic said. "We need to get back to Angel Island. Shadow, would you mind?"

"Not at all." Shadow said as he teleported the four of them back to Angel Island. They needed rest, and answers.

**A/N: That was one hec of a chapter! Man, I've got writers block! Naw, jk. But I should get some rest now. Remember to review, I greatly appriciate it!**

Ciao!


	4. Falling from the Sky

**Disclaimer: Sonic an co. belong to SEGA. Bolt belongs to**  
**HyperTomboi429. I only own Echo and this plot.**

**Time: ?**

**Location: ?**

White. Everywhere. Nothing could be seen. It was just white. Whiteness  
covered the majority of the vast space. The location was empty. The  
only things that werent white were portals that took you to various  
locations on Mobius. Not exactly locations, though. More like  
memories. You could enter one location, but wouldnt be able to explore  
more of Mobius. And, after successfully making one's way through the  
location, they would return to the infinite whiteness. Not even the  
floor one stands on could be seen. This really wasnt on Mobius at all,  
nor any other planet. Not even existing in the universe. This was a  
pocket dimension, supposedly created by the Time Eater. This dimension  
was simply a vast space of whiteness, and thats exactly what it was  
called: White Space. Although empty, it was always quiet...

Well, at least it used to be.

"Ooooohhh... I HATE that hedgehog! HATE HIM! HATE, HATE, HATE THAT  
HEDGEHOG!"

That was the docter. Known by most as Dr. Eggman, but originally  
called Dr. Robotnick. He had been trapped in White Space for some time  
now. It all started after Sonic destroyed his interstellar amusement  
park. When floating amongst the wreckage, he discovered a monster  
known as the Time Eater. This monster trapped Sonic, along with  
others, in White Space. However, they escaped, and left Robotnick  
there, forever. He was accompanied by Classic Eggman, a past version  
of himself, but he managed to return to his own timeline after a few  
hours.

"AAAAAAARRRRGGG!" Robotnick shrieked, obviously angry. He growled,  
swearing and cursing the hedgehog that stood in his way for years.

CCCCRRRRAAAAAACCKKK!

What is this? A giant cut is appearing in the vast whiteness,  
revealing the night sky of Mobius. An orange salamander hovers through  
the cut in space.

"Bah! What do you want?" Robotnick growled.

"Docter... is that any way to treat the creator of this realm?" the  
salamander, whom you probably now know as Echo, asks.

"N-No! I-I'm sorry!" Robotnick said, desperately. For he had  
expierenced Echo's powers once, and he didnt want to again.

"Good..." Echo said, while brushing himself off. "Now, Doctor, I'm  
here to get you out. You've been here long enough."

"You are?"

"Yes... not that you should want to get out, though. I'm in the  
process of destroying this miserable planet."

"Why? I never wanted this! Mobius is MY planet, not yours!"

"Whatever." Echo said with a wave of his hand. "I'm not here to argue. Be gone."

With those words, Robotnick felt White Space crack open beneath him.  
With a cry, the doctor fell. He saw the stars in the sky as he crashed  
down towards the planet. He looked below, and could see the jungle,  
and his Egg Dome. He continued falling, until he was caught by several  
trees, and landed roughly on soft grass. He could hear crickets, along  
with a stream, coming from the deep of the jungle. He smiled. He had  
escaped White Space.

"Ah, there you are, sir!" a robotic english accent called out.

"'Sup, bro!" another voice called.

Robotnick turned to see a small red robot, along with a yellow robot.  
Both were familiar.

"Orbot, Cubot, is it... you?" Robotnick (lets call him Eggman from now  
on, okay?) asked.

"Sure thing, dude!" Cubot (the yellow robot) said while Orbot (the red  
one) facepalmed.

"Forgive him, sir. He has the wrong voice chip, I'm afraid."

"Perfectly fine..." Eggman said, a smile speading on his face. "How is  
the Eggdome and the troops?"

"In tip top condition, sir."

"Perfect. Assemble the Eggpawns, and all Metal Sonics, along with Tails Doll."

"...Sir?"

"Thats an order! This is an emergancy! There is a new threat, and it means war!"

VvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvV

**Time: 5:30**

**Location: Chaotix Detective Agency**

"WHAT THE HEC DO YA WANT, SONIC?!" Vector roared, slamming his fist  
on the table. Sonic certainly wasnt expecting Vector to be like this.  
Usually he was cheerful, caring, and kind of clumsy. Today, however,  
he seemed angry.

The office that Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, and Vector were in was  
in the Chaotix's agency building/living quarters. As usual, Vector's  
office was a wreck. A bowl of popcorn spilled over, a pile of old  
CD's, movies such as "Planet of the Chaos" and "The Complete 'Chao in  
Space' Trilogy" were spread across the couch, etc.

"Look, Vec." Tails began, stepping forward. "Did you hear about Green  
Hill and Emerald Coast?"

"Who didnt?" Vector said flatly. "Its all over the news, people are  
actually selling pictures to the 'Station Square Times', 'Westopolis  
Gazzette' and 'The Central City Bee'. Like I said, who hasnt heard  
about it? But look, I cant focus on that kind of stuff right now,  
okay? Lets see... we have traces of the Black Comet showing up, we've  
got a break in at G.U.N, some lion stole a bunch of weapons, and is  
now Central City's most wanted, and Bolt, Silver, AND Blaze are  
experiencing weird head pains."

"Can you at least- wait, what did you say about the black comet?"  
Shadow asked, his eyes widening.

"Why dont you take a look?" Vector said as he turned his laptop around  
to face the others, and opened a picture document.

The photo showed a blurry black and white comet, identical to the one  
that was destroyed long ago.

They gasped. "That cant be, its just a regular comet, right?" Shadow asked.

"That just-so-happens to look like a familiar alien starship? Hard to  
say." Vector said, rolling a pencil around on the table in a bored  
manner."What about the head pains you mentioned?" Knuckles asked.

"Ask her yourself. YO, BOLT!" Vector called out.

"WHAT!" a rather ticked off voice shouted back.

"NO NEED TO YELL, Y'KNOW!"

"YOU YELLED!"

"I WHAT?"

"YOU STARTED THE YELLING!"

"CAN YA REPEAT THAT?"

"UGH! Forget it." Bolt had made her way down the stairs now. She was a  
white hedgehog with a white t-shirt, black jacket and slacks, white  
sneakers, fingerless gloves with black basketball bands, and six  
pearcings on her ears. Her bristles were shaped like lightning bolts.

"Hey, long time, no see, Bolt!" Tails said as he and the hedgehog did  
a fist pound.

"Bolt," Sonic began. "Vec said you were having odd pains in your head,  
can you describe it?"

The white hedgehog thought for a minute. "Uhhh... just sharp pangs, I  
guess. Kind of like my body was trying to force me use my powers."

"When did they start?"

"Hmm... about 1:30?"

"Strange..." Knuckles said. "Thats when Echo started twisting Emerald  
Coast around."

"Whoa... Knucklehead actually noticed something!" Sonic said, before  
getting in a tight headlock under the echidna's arm.

Tails chuckled as he resumed talking to Vector. "Do you have any video  
footage of the attack?"

"Well..." Vector answered as he stroked his chin, "This kid gave us a  
tape, now, I can't show it to you because Charmy broke it, but... we  
watched it, and it seemed almost like... the salamanders hand motions  
were controlling the enviroment."

"Hmm..." Tails clutched his head, in deep thought. "Sonic!" he shouted  
suddenly, to a still-fighting Sonic and Knuckles. "We need to talk to  
Chaos! Bolt, you should come with us."

Bolt nodded and the group gathered around Shadow, who was holding his  
Chaos Emerald.

"Chaos..." he began.

VvVvVvVvVvVvVvV

**Time: 5:42 PM**

**Location: Angel Island**

"...CONTROL!" Shadow finished. He opened his eyes, and found him and  
the others back on Angel Island.

The group headed up the altar. They passed stone carvings, and a few  
spider webs as they made it to the top. The sunset cast a red glow  
over the top of the altar.

"Chaos?" Knuckles called out.

"KNUCKLES!" a voice shouted. The group turned to see an orange echidna  
approaching them.

"Hey!" Bolt said, in a suprised voice, "thats-"

"Tikal." Sonic addressed the echidna. "Is something wrong?"

"Very wrong, Sonic." came the reply.

"What is it?!" Shadow demanded.

"Something you wont like, Shadow." Chaos' voice said as he rose beside  
Tikal. "Come, take a look." Chaos led them the rest of the way up.  
They werent expecting what lied ahead of them.

There, in the center of the altar, were the shattered remains of the  
Master Emerald.

"Not this again..." Knuckles groaned.

"His powers are far too great. Angel Island is due to fall any minute  
now." Chaos said.

Suddenly, they felt the island jerk beneath them. They all grabbed  
onto a solid part of the alter as they felt a surge of energy rush  
through them as the island began to fall. Bolt managed to get two  
words out before they began a lethal fall.

"Aw, crap!"

**A/N: AH HAHAHAHA! CLIFFHANGA! Booyah! Anyway, I'm quite proud of**  
**this chapter. What did you guys think? Be sure to reveiw.**  
**Also, I'm starting a new fic that I will be writing alongside this**  
**one. Its called "The New Recruits" and I will be accepting OCs! So be**  
**on the lookout for it!**  
**In the meantime, checkout my other fics:**

**Kid Icarus: Reign of Random (for all you Kid Icarus: Uprising fans**  
**that love random humor!)**

**and SSB: Murderhouse (a murder mystery involving the Smash Bros.)**

**Now, I need to get to bed. I'm writing this at like... 11:50 PM.**

**Thunder: You really should stop listening to TobyMac and P.O.D.**  
**for hours on end...**

**Gnat1: yeah, yeah, yeah. Now go away!**

**Thunder: No! This is Thunder the Lion, signing off.**

**Ciao!**

**-Thunder**

**Gnat1: Hey, I CLOSE OFF THE A/N'S, OK? *beats up Thunder with a toilet**  
**plunger* Ok, with that done, this is Gnat1, signing off!**

**Ciao!**

**-Gnat1**


	5. Friend or Foe?

**A/N: No, I didn't get hit by a bus, get sick, get ripped to peices by**  
**an ape, fall off a building, or anything else that would hold me back**  
**from fanfiction! I AM ALIIIIIIVVVEEEEE!**

**Thunder: Um, yeah. Whatever.**

**Gnat1: Disclaimer, anyone?**

**Thunder: NO! I ALWAYS HAVE TO DO THE DISCLAIMER! I REFUSE!**

**Gnat1: Rebellious, are we?**

**Thunder: You could say that.**

**Echo: Atta boy, Thunder!**

**Thunder: SHUT. UP.**

**Cloak: Chillax, bro.**

**Nightstalker: Idiots...**

**Wind: Um... what were we talking about?**

**Tropic: idk**

**Wind: Oh, ok**

**Lightning: Are we gonna start this fic soon?**

**Gnat1: We need a disclaimer first...**

**Briggs: I can do it.**

**Disclaimer: Sonic belongs to SEGA, Bolt belongs to HyperTomboi429.**

**Gnat1: Thanks, Briggs. You saved us. *hands Briggs a cookie***

**Briggs: Oatmeal raisin? EEEEEEEEEEWWWW!**

**Gnat1: *rolls eyes***

**-Chapter 5: Friend or Foe?-**

Angel Island was never considered small. In fact, it was huge. Giant  
mountains, deep caverns, decent lakes, and a thick jungle made its  
size humongous. The altar was on a much smaller island, connected to  
the rest of the floating wonder by only a small bridge.

Of course, if it ever fell, it would be disastrous.

Sonic had a death grip on a small structure, braced for the impact  
soon to come. Shadow could have used Chaos Control, but the prized  
emerald had slipped from his hand. And after the recent battle at  
Emerald Coast, he was very weak. Knuckles had dug his claws into the  
ground, intent on staying put, while Tails clung onto one of the only  
trees on the edge of the small island. Bolt didn't have to worry about  
flying off the island, she was a unique hedgehog. She was usually  
refered to as an Element-hog. Using control of the elements, she  
managed to harden part of the ground into a group of tight ledges in  
the earth, in which she gripped onto with her hands and feet. Chaos  
and Tikal had simply gone into a spirit form, so as to not suffer any  
damage.

The island continued soaring downward, at amazing speed. Just when  
Sonic felt like he was about to slip off, the island slammed into the  
ocean (to be more precise, the Sapphire Sea), causing a tidal wave to  
overtake the surrounding waters. The mobians jerked into the ground  
that they were already trying to stay on, creating small depressions  
in the earth.

A light shot down on the island, teleporting Chaos and Tikal back.

"Is everyone alright?" Tikal asked.

A groan was heard from everyone, as mumbled answers of "I'm fine" or  
"Leave me be" (this came from Shadow) could be heard. Tails, on the  
other hand, didn't answer, as the tree he was clinging on to had  
fallen down on impact, crushing the kit.

Chaos saw him and made his way over. After examining the fox, he  
looked up at Tikal.

"He's suffering with injuries to the head, ribs, and stomach. Take  
care of him, and do your best to make him recover."

Tikal nodded, and transformed into a glowing orb. After rotating  
around the unconscious kit a couple times, the two disappeared in a  
flash of light.

Sonic's arms shook as he struggled to push himself up. "W-What  
H-Happened?" he managed to stutter out.

"Echo has shattered the Master Emerald, hoping to weaken us. It  
worked, in a way." Chaos answered as he motioned to the empty space  
where Tails once was.

"He means business..." Shadow growled as he stood up. "It will take me  
another hour to regenerate all the chaos energy I used."

Bolt sat up and looked at an exhausted Knuckles. "Hey, get up." she  
whispered quickly, shaking the echidna.

Knuckles woke with a start, and a shout. "AUGH!" he nearly screamed.

"There is no time to rest, he will return." Chaos hissed.

Sonic looked around as he regained his balance. It appeared that Angel  
Island had landed right outside Mystic Ruins, the same place it landed  
a few years before. The night sky, which was usually seen under the  
small island the altar was on, had been replaced by a thick jungle.

"Well, we survived. Thats a plus." the cobalt hedgehog said as he  
looked over the lush tropical forest.

Knuckles gazed at the starry sky. It had darkened rather  
quickly, but that wasn't what concerned him.

"Do you know where the remains of the Master Emerald are?" he asked,  
turning to Chaos.

"No. My only guess is that he has absorbed some of the power, and most  
likely spread the shards out." came the reply.

Shadow gazed over at the other side of the bridge. It was a fair  
distance away, but something caught his eye. On the other side of  
angel island, he saw the dark green grass begin to... move? It moved  
more now, in a circle pattern. It continued until it became an earthly  
spiral. It rotated in a spinning motion, until it began moving up,  
into a noticeable, tall mound.

"What the..." Shadow thought, still staring across the bridge with  
squinted eyes. The night had made it darker, causing this strange  
formation even more difficult to see. It shifted into a humanoid form,  
and peircing red eyes glared out of its earthly head. Shadow then  
realized that that wasn't the only formation taking place. Thousands of more of these creatures were  
forming across the landscape.

"What are those things?" Bolt asked, motioning to the creatures Shadow  
had been observing. The figures gazed at the mobians, and began  
crossing the bridge.

"Okay... I'm getting kind of freaked out..." Sonic said to himself  
with wide eyes, staring at the zombie-like figures.

"See them?" a voice asked up from above the island. The mobians  
glanced upwards to see an orange salamander.

"What are these, Echo?" Chaos growled.

"Just more experiences with chaos energy, altered by my will." the  
amphibian answered as the creatures continued approaching the altar.

"Stop this, now! What good reason do you have to tamper with the soil  
like this!?" Shadow shouted angrily.

"I don't need one. I've never needed one. Tell me, blue one..." his  
eyes shifted down to Sonic. "Did you ever wonder why Green Hill Zone  
was so perfect for running through?"

Sonic narrowed his eyes.

"What about Chemical Plant? Sky Sanctuary? Emerald Coast? Your little  
'City Escape'? What about the famous Rooftop Run? Even the  
Interstellar Amusement Park? I altered all of these to suit your liking, you know. It is a secret Mobius has kept for decades. If it  
wasn't for me, hedgehog, none of these victories would have been  
yours. Did you ever wonder... if all your success, was just a careful  
plan to make you fall? Who created the Time Eater essence? I've been  
pulling strings throughout your entire life. I even gave a small  
portion of my powers to three other mobians, not that that should  
concern you.., for now."

By this time, Sonic, Knuckles, Shadow, Bolt, and Chaos were surrounded  
by the creatures. Echo took notice of Bolt gathering electricity.

"And who is this? Another friend?"

Bolt then gathered enough electricity to cause a radar wave of energy  
to fry all the surrounding creatures. Echo saw this with wonder.

"Impossible... I knew there was a connection..." he mumbled.

Suddenly, a giant red ball flew down from a cluster of clouds,  
smashing into a mountain. Echo whipped around to face the chaotic  
noise that followed. A deep, robotic growl shot through the jungle as  
a giant pair of glowing, red eyes peered over a mountain. Three small  
silhouettes emerged from the foggy clouds soon after. Two of them shot  
forward, destroying nearly all of Echo's creatures, and made their way  
towards the group. Both were metallic hedgehogs, one blue, the other  
silver. The blue one could easily be seen as Metal Sonic, while the  
noticeably larger silver one could only be Silver Sonic.

Bolt, while wondering about the appearance of the two lifelong enemies  
of Sonic, had enough questions for one day. And that is why she waved  
her hand, creating a giant gust of wind to blow away the overcasting  
clouds, courtesy of her element powers. This revealed something she,  
nor anyone else, had hoped to see. Something only spoke of in  
horrified whispers: Titan Metal Sonic.

The huge beast roared, as the Egg Carrier Mark II hovered overhead. On  
the titans shoulder, a faint, raggy orange figure lazily sat, it could  
only be Tails Doll.

Robotnick's voice sounded out of a giant megaphone from the massive  
flying fortress.

**"SURRENDER NOW, ECHO, OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCES."**

In response, the salamander flung a titanic mass of earth at the ship  
with a simple hand motion. Titan Metal Sonic smacked it out of the way  
before it even made contact.

Metal Sonic turned to the group of mobians. "ROBOTNICK WISHES TO  
DEFEAT LIFEFORM INDICATED AS ECHO. ASSISTANCE FROM YOU WOULD IMPROVE  
FORCES GREATLY. AFFIRMATIVE?"

Sonic blinked. Was he trying to tell them... that Eggman was on their  
side? He slapped his hand to his forehead.

"Great. Just great. Eggy's made this into an all out war." he groaned.

"Should we help him?" Knuckles asked, scratching his head. Sonic  
looked across the bridge, watching the herculean Titan flick away  
soil-made creatures being constantly created by Echo, with assistance  
of the giant ship and the Tails Doll. With a sigh, he turned toward  
his two robotic doppelgangers.

"What do we have to lose? Sure guys, we're in."

**A/N: Not sure what to think of this chapter, what did you guys think?**  
**I hope it wasn't a disappoint. Please put in your overly appriciated**  
**input. Oh, and Silver Sonic and Titan Metal Sonic are characters from**  
**the comic series, along with Tails Doll (but he's been in a game**  
**before, so he doesn't really count.) If you don't know who they are,**  
**then look it up. The Egg Carrier Mark II is a ship seen at the**  
**beginning of Sonic Chronicles. Okay, thats all for now, I'm outta**  
**here.**

**Peithout! (Peice Out, in a nerdy voice)**

**-Gnat1**


	6. Battle of the Ancients

**A/N: Alright, LETS GETTIT STARTED!**

**Thunder: Naw, lets forget about this fic, I'd rather write the next one.**

**Gnat1: No way!**

**Cloak: Yeah, bro. This fic shall continue!**

**Thunder: Can I write it then?**

**Gnat1: ...Why?**

**Thunder: idk, I'm bored.**

**Gnat1: Then go play wii with Cloak.**

**Cloak: Naw, we just did that. Could we order a pizza?**

**Gnat1: Yeah, whatever. Just let me write!**

**Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN A SQUAT! Well, ok, I do own the plot. Sonic**  
**and Co. are property of SEGA, Bolt property of HyperTomboi429.**

**-Chapter 6: Battle of the Ancients-**

**Time: Unknown**

**Location: Mystic Ruins**

Tails' eyes slowly opened. He blinked before shutting them again. He  
felt tired, and bruised. Again, he opened his eyes, seeing a  
stone-made ceiling. It was brown, but with a reddish tint to it. He  
made the effort to sit up, succeeding, but causing severe pain at his  
sides. He winced as he took in his surroundings. He was in a small  
room, laying in a bed. A door at his left led into what appeared to be  
a larger room, while the door he was facing showed a magnificant view  
of a giant temple. The room he was in seemed to be an apartment,  
grouped into a chain of similar apartments surrounding this  
"villiage". At the base of the temple, dozens of purple echidna's  
walked about, either visiting with others or heading in a specific  
direction.

Tails thought for a moment. He had been here before, hadn't he? Yes,  
back when Robotnick had Chaos on his side. That was a LONG time ago.  
He remembered being warped to this villiage once, after he chased  
Big's pet frog down Sand Hill. He sighed, remembering back. He had  
come a long way since then, had he not? That was back when he saved  
Station Square from a missle launched by Robotnick. He smiled to  
himself, as more fond memories flowed through his mind.

"Ah, your awake."

Tails jumped, being interrupted from his thoughts. He turned his head  
to the door at his left, and found an old echidna staring back at him.

Like the other tribal echidnas, he had purple fur, with white rings  
around his spines. Beads of green and brown hung from a few of his  
spines, in a tribal manner. What made him stand out from the other  
echidnas, however, was the large tattoo of the yellow chaos emerald on  
his head. That, and the long, white beard that hung from his chin,  
obviously, he was an older echidna.

"No worries, son. I'm a friend." the old echidna said. "Miss Tikal  
brought you here, asked me to tend to you. You were pretty torn up.  
Lucky I can use Chaos Heal"

Tails could only nod, still confused. "What... What happened? Why am I here?"

"Angel Island fell, from what Tikal told me. She said you got smashed  
by a tree. I've seen some of your battles with Echo. He is not an  
enemy to take lightly" came the answer.

Tails thought for a minute, memory of the recent battle slowly coming  
back to him. He fixed his gaze on the echidna.

"...Who are you?"

The echidna looked up at this question. He wasn't looking at anything  
directly, as if trying to think.

"I am known by many names..." He began slowly. "And yet... I was never  
born with one. I am a time traveler, appearing young in your future,  
and old in the past. I go back and forth like that" he chuckled. "I've  
gone through so many time lines throughout my life, that I hardly  
remember my own. I spent my younger years in your future, and before  
that, I took some time way back, before you or the blue hero were  
born. I then returned here, to my original timeline. Because of my  
confusing travels, I became known by my fellow tribal members as  
something that could suit me best." he then looked at Tails in the  
eye.

"I am Paradox. Paradox the Echidna."

VvVvVvVvVvVvV

Time: 6:04 PM

Location: Egg Carrier Mark II

"Was that necessary, sir?" Snively asked his uncle. "I mean... I  
understand sending in the two Metal Sonics, and the Tails Doll, but  
did we really need the Titan?"

"We need every last bit of help we can get, Snively" Robotnick  
answered, looking up from a control panel. "Echo is a serious enemy.  
Very serious..."

"But... Sonic already has tons of help." Snively stated. "Those  
mobians, Silver and Blaze, have arrived along with the Freedom  
Fighters. To top it off, they've got Chaos, and... and Bolt!"

Robotnick winced at the mention of that name. "All the more reason,  
Snively. None of them can be harmed..."

"TITAN METAL SONIC'S SIZE IS GREATER THAN THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING!  
HE DESTROYS EVERYTHING JUST BY STANDING THERE!" Snively shouted.

"You haven't seen Echo's maximum power, have you Snively?" Robotnick  
nearly growled. "I've sent our best robots, because I know Sonic can't  
beat him on his own. I HAVE seen his maximum power."

**VvVvVvVvVvV**

**Time: 6:05 PM**

**Location: Angel Island, outside Mystic Ruins**

Sonic growled as more of the earth-made soldiers closed in on him. He  
was glad for the extra help supplied by his friends, Robotnick, and  
the Freedom Fighters, but somehow he knew that wouldn't be enough. But  
that didn't matter. He had to fight.

With a battle cry, he spindashed in a spiral direction, ripping apart soil,  
along with the earthly soldiers. He then backhanded one, knocking it  
down. Another grabbed his arm. Sonic sighed and flipped himself up  
on to the creature's shoulder, then furiously kicked its head, causing  
it to crumble to the ground.

Knuckles shredded through his opponents easily. He then grabbed  
one, and spun it around, causing it to fly towards Silver Sonic.  
Silver Sonic caught it with ease, then quickly zipped around, slamming  
the creature into its fellow soldiers.

Shadow had to rely on speed, as he still wasn't able to recharge or  
recover the chaos emerald. He quietly shot around, dealing hard blows  
to the soil-made warriors. After a few homing attacks, he managed to  
clear a small area free from the monsters.

Bolt waited patiently until she was surrounded, then would shove her  
hands into the ground, causing it to light up with electricity. Jets  
of energy flew out of the ground, eliminating everything within a ten  
foot radius. Good thing she was at a safe distance from the others.  
Silver and Blaze jumped down next to her.

"Glad you guys could make it." Bolt said as she sank into the earth,  
only to reappear behind a group of opponents. She destroyed them almost instantly.

"Yeah, well, we would never miss a 'friendly gathering'" Silver  
replied with a bit of humor as he slammed two of the creatures  
together, via telekinesis.

"How many of these are there?" Blaze asked as she fried a group of enemies.

"We're not even across the bridge yet!" Sally Acorn shouted as she led  
Antoine and Rotor by. She pointed to the bridge, where thousands more  
of the monsters were crossing to the smaller island. It was only getting more difficult, even with the extra back up.

Amy had also arrived, along with Vector, Espio, and Charmy. The four  
of them managed to take out dozens of monsters, courtesy of a certain  
hammer, large crocodile teeth, ninja stars, and one VERY ticked off  
bee.

Metal Sonic was blasting numerous opponents with his arm blaster,  
while Tails Doll stood at his side, sporting a twenty-gauge shotgun.  
Titan Metal Sonic smashed enemies by the hundreds as he slammed his  
gigantic hands to the ground. Silver Sonic was busy helping Knuckles.

Sonic turned to Chaos. "Lets go for the big guy." he said with a grin.  
Chaos nodded, and the two raced over toward Echo.

Echo growled as he watched the battle taking place. With hesitation,  
he turned to the location of Silver, Blaze, and Bolt battling  
constantly appearing warriors. Watching them have a difficult time  
could only make him smile. But when one of them used their powers, he  
could only frown. "So... there IS a connection... It was so obvious,  
to." he sighed, and began making his way over to the three.

Suddenly, a blue flash slammed him to the ground. This was followed by  
a long blue arm grabbing him, whipping him around, then throwing him  
into a tree. Echo growled as he stood up, healed from a sudden chaos  
radiation from his body. After dusting himself off, he looked up to  
see Sonic and Chaos approaching him.

"This is silly, Echo. Stop this at once." Chaos said in a calm but clear voice.

"Dude, having a bunch of dirt-made zombie... things will NOT help  
you!" Sonic growled, but sporting a slight grin on his face.

Echo looked up and hissed, "Oh, I think it will."

As the words left him, he turned his gaze to a mountain in the  
distance. Sonic recognized this as Red Mountain, a location he once  
chased Robotnick through when Amy had been captured. This mountain,  
unfortunately, was Echo's goal, as it began to morph into a giant,  
apocalyptic creature with just a thought from the salamander.

"STOP THIS!" Sonic shouted, punching Echo in the center of his eyes.  
Echo shook the daze out of his head, then gave the hedgehog a solid  
glare. "Fool. It has already begun."

VvVvVvVvVvV

"Echo began like an average mobian." Paradox said while Tails rested  
on the bed. His wounds had been brutal, and even chaos energy wasn't  
working as fast as he hoped.

"It was not until after years of training himself did he finally reach  
a conscious with the Chaos Emeralds." Paradox continued. Tails jumped  
at this.

"...What... What do you mean by 'A Conscious'?" he asked.

Paradox turned from the view of the altar and faced the kit. "You  
never knew?". The question gave Tails a shot of nervousness.

"What do you mean?"

"It was considered impossible by most of our ancestors. It is actually  
very possible. The only known beings able to grant themselves such a  
conscience were Enerjaks. Echo, however, shattered this theory with  
ease. Reaching a conscious with the emeralds is really quite simple."  
He then left to filled a small watering can from a faucet in the other  
room. After he returned, he gently sprinkled water over a nearby palm plant. When  
finished, he set the can down, and faced the fox.

"But it is also very, very dangerous." he said, giving Tails a solid stare.

"Well, yeah. I can see that." was Tails' reply, as he remembered the  
run in at Emerald Coast.

"Not in a physical way, actually." Paradox had a serious look set on  
his face. "More in a mental way."

Tails was silent, in thought, then lifted an eyebrow. "...Are you  
trying to say-"

"It drove him to insanity." Paradox finished for him. " After, his  
powers were achieved, and improved after years of practice, things  
began to kick in. You see, use of chaos energy for a massive amount of  
time will leave a permanent dent on your mind forever. You will begin  
to crave destruction. After all, they weren't named 'Chaos Emeralds'  
without good reason. Echo's creativity seemed to merge with his wants  
of destroying nearly everything. Just about all of the  
locations you and the blue one have travelled through were just little  
'Practice Areas' for Echo. He morphed the enviroment into loops,  
turns, jumps, and just about everything else. His first creation,  
Green Hill Zone, was then offered to Robotnick. He was curious about  
the doctor, and hoped to learn his intentions, in which he succeeded.  
He observed Robotnick's evil ways, and his first defeat. Being  
defeated at the hands of a mobian filled him with wonder, and he  
secretly observed all of you from then on, suiting the enviroment for  
your liking. He wanted to get everyone used to the constant echo of  
racetrack-like landscapes, and build enough confidence in all of  
you... so that when the day came when he would attack, it would feel  
different, and unnatural, by the way he morphs the landscapes now."

This caused a thought to rise in Tails' mind. "Where did you fit into  
all this?" he asked.

Paradox sighed. "In my younger years, I helped Echo. He offered good  
payment, and I foolishly agreed. I would have been in your future in  
those years." his eyes then adopted a look of concern, as he said in a  
serious, almost hurt voice. "If you ever run into me, stop me. That's  
what happened when I was younger. I was stopped by you, along with a  
group of criminals. Be sure to stop me, or else another paradox will  
form."

Tails sighed, twiddling his thumbs. "Was there anything else I should  
know about?" he asked after a long silence. Paradox looked up.

"Yes." he replied as he gazed at the view of the altar. "There are  
many like Echo. He couldn't contain all his power, just in one body.  
He... he spread it out, amongst three mobians. Beware of them, for  
although they have not yet mastered their powers..." he turned and  
gave Tails a clear look in the eye. "...They are very, very dangerous,  
and they pretend to be your friends."

VvVvVvV

**[Music Playing: Open Your Heart Perfect Chaos Remix, By Crush 40]**

Monstrous. That was the only way it could be described. Never before  
had Sonic seen a creature this big. Not even Titan Metal Sonic could  
be compared to this.

"Whoa... I never fought a whole level before." Sonic gulped.

The monster let out a tremendous roar and smashed a hand, with a width  
of a half mile, into the ground. Trees soared through the air as if  
they were dust. Sonic revved up and shot towards it. The distance  
between him and the monster was so far apart that he'd have to run a  
good distance through the jungle. He flew past objects, watching them  
go by as a blur. He passed over the bridge connecting the altar to the  
rest of the island, then quickly ducked under the gateway that opens  
the path toward Red Mountain. He took a quick breath before breaking  
the sound barrier, flying through the jungle and swiftly dodging  
through tree roots, brush, and tall growing plants. He approached the  
creature's leg in the center of a wide valley.

"Dang it, this thing's huge!" He said to himself. Shadow and the two  
Metal Sonic's came at his side.

"Listen, faker." Shadow growled as he stared at the creature. "The  
four of us will need to have enough speed to charge up its leg. While  
running up the creature's body, look for an opening. Enter it, and  
eliminate everything you see."

Sonic nodded. "Sounds reasonable enough."

With that, Sonic, Shadow, Metal Sonic, and Silver Sonic crouched to  
the ground, then launched forward. They rocketed at speeds Sonic had  
only reached a few times before, and made it to the monster's  
humongous foot. They leaped up, then shot up it's leg. Sonic recognized  
it all instantly. The falling walkways, the twisted bridges, the  
skull-shaped rocks that spit fire out, and the dangling remains of a  
zipline all came back to Sonic. It was like taking a step back in  
time, just before Perfect Chaos had destroyed Station Square. Of  
course, the fact that the entire mountain now wanted to kill him was  
forcing him to forget those memories.

"OPENING FOUND." Silver Sonic said, pointing a metallic finger at the  
entrance to a cavern inside the creature. Silver Sonic, accompanied by  
the other three hedgehogs, entered the cavern. The inside was basically long  
dirt paths, lava rivers, and the remains of an old jailhouse. Metal  
Sonic instantly took to blasting the walls while Shadow shot multiple  
chaos spears. Sonic and Silver Sonic rolled into balls and shot across  
the dark walls of Red Mountain. Already, the monster's center stomach  
area began falling apart. Shadow waited for the others to be a safe  
distance away before removing his inhibitor rings, unleashing several  
Chaos Blasts. Sonic sped through with Silver Sonic, running deeper  
into the creature. They found a tunnel leading upwards, and decided  
against their better knowledge to run up it. The passage continued  
upwards, until the duo blindly ran into an opening, and over a vast  
pit. They screamed as they plummeted into the dark abyss, only to  
realize that they were in a volcano. Tremors sounded as the whole  
creature began shaking apart. A burst of hot air shot up, taking the  
hedgehogs along with it. The rocketed upwards at supersonic speeds,  
until the night sky became visible through a distant opening. They  
shot out of it and flew through the air. Silver Sonic instantly ran  
his scanners while in mid-air. Apparently, the earthquake they had  
started had shaken the creature up so much that it could no longer  
move properly. They also must have just erupted from it's head.

That could only mean they were two miles over Angel Island.

Sonic gasped as his eyes shot downward, realizing how high they were.  
He covered his eyes, preparing for a lethal impact.

Instead, they were caught by a large, metallic hand. Silver Sonic  
glanced up to see that Titan Metal Sonic had grabbed them just as they  
burst out of the geyser, saving them from a painful landing.

"T-Thanks." Sonic stuttered at the robot, nervous from their  
near-fall. The robot growled and shoved his hand through the giant  
monster that once was Red Mountain. With another growl, he ripped the  
mountain to pieces. He then turned, carrying Sonic and Metal Sonic  
with him, and made his way to the rest of the battle.

VvVvVvV

"WHAT'S HAPPENING?" Shadow shouted over the rumbling of the cavern.  
Huge boulders were crumbling and falling near them, threatening to  
slam into either of them.

"LETS GET OUT OF HERE!" Shadow shouted again. Metal Sonic nodded  
quickly. Shadow was about to use Chaos Control, when he realized that  
he didn't have his Chaos Emerald. He swore under his breath as he  
motioned for Metal Sonic to follow him. The two began zipping through  
passages, navigating their way out. Large falling rocks barely missed  
them as they tried to pick up their speed. Finally, the opening came  
into view. They dived through just before it collapsed. This lead to  
another problem: They were now falling a great distance from the  
ground. They both tried to stay calm as they gained speed, plummeting  
even faster now. Luckily, they were over a lake, and slammed into the  
water surface. A bruised Shadow slowly floated back up, while Metal  
Sonic just then remembered that he had rockets equiped. They turned to  
see the monster crumble, while Titan Metal Sonic was leaving their  
eyesight.

VvVvVvV

"He's just going to create more of those if we don't do something!"  
Bolt shouted to Blaze.

"We can't do much about it now, its all I can to hold these off!" The  
lavender cat responded as she lit more creatures on fire.

Bolt took a minute to think. "Do you think you can hold a few more  
off?" she asked.

"Y-Yeah, go for it." Blaze grunted as she flung around, slamming her  
fist into another one of the monsters.

Instantly, Bolt sank into the earth, and moved silently underground  
until she came behind Echo. With lightning speed, she morphed out of  
the ground, and launched herself at Echo, only to be hit by a wave of  
earth.

"You seriously thought that would work?" he growled. Sally then joined  
Bolt's side, along with Rotor and Knuckles.

"Everyone else is fighting off the dirt-zombies" Sally said under her  
breath. "The four of us can take him."

As soon as the words escaped her lips, Knuckles had leapt at the  
salamander, delivering a blurring fury of hard punches. Rotor then  
slammed him in between his massive arms, but Echo shot a spike out  
from the ground, instantly knocking Rotor off balance. Bolt spun  
herself around, propelling herself in the air, and connecting Echo's  
head with her foot. The salamander fell to the ground, and Sally  
approached him.

"My focus can't be lost that easily..." he hissed, as he quickly  
jumped up and levitated into the air. Sally delivered a fast kick,  
causing him to drop slightly.

Rotor saw an opportunity. As soon as his eye noticed Echo's drop, he  
grabbed Bolt.

"Think fast." was all he had to say, before flinging the hedgehog into  
the air. Bolt caught on instantly, and gathered a heavy amount of  
electricity. As soon as she was in touching distance of Echo, she  
jolted all of her electricity into him, causing him to lose all his  
focus. Both came crashing to the ground. Bolt shakily stood up to find that all of the monsters had collapsed.

Was it finally over?

**[Music stops]**

_**"HHHHHRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!"** _Echo shrieked as he flung himself back to  
his feet. A strange, green aura surrounded his orange, slimy skin. The  
aura increased it's intensity as he raised his hand.

"I will kill you all, fools, starting with you two." he hissed in a  
lethal tone as he pointed his hand toward Chaos and Tikal. Both were  
standing in front of where the last emerald was. Echo's aura grew to a  
max brightness, as he screamed three fatal words:

_**"ULTIMATE CHAOS SPEAR!"**_

A huge beam of energy erupted from his body, morphing into a laser and  
streaming towards the two at near light speed. Chaos and Tikal  
instantly shifted to spirit form, not suffering any harm. The beam  
shot down, and hit the Master Emerald spot. Instead of frying it,  
however, it was absorbed.

"Oh, oh no. Oh no, no, no, NO!" Knuckles exclaimed, his red fur becoming pale.

"What's happening?" Silver asked anxiously.

"T-That spot, thats where the Master Emerald sits... and where it's  
constant supply of Chaos Energy is absorbed." The echidna replied  
nervously. "That Chaos Energy... is what keeps this island in the  
sky."

"Oh, snap." Rotor gulped.

"Hang on, guys." Sally growled, while grabbing hold of a rock jutting  
out of the ground. "We're in for a wild ride."

Echo only smiled sadistically.

Everyone grabbed hold of the nearest, firm rock or tree they could  
find as Angel Island launched into the air.

VvVvVvV

"What the-" Snively exclaimed as he watched the island take off.

"KEEP AN EYE ON IT!" Robotnick shouted furiously. He grabbed the  
ship's controls and shot it forward in mad pursuit of the island.

VvVvVvV

"WHAT... IS GOING ON?" Sonic yelled as Titan Metal Sonic fell to the  
ground, due to the sudden jolt upwards. Sonic and Metal Sonic, who  
were still in the Titan's hand, had been tossed over to the lake by  
the force of the wind, right where Shadow and Silver Sonic were.

Unable to speak, Shadow could only nod at the other two Mobians as the  
wind whipped every word out of their mouth's. The wind continued on,  
as the four managed to snag onto vines of a nearby tree, violently  
spinning around by the force of the air. Eventually, the wind was put  
to a halt, but it felt as if it was declining in altitude, as if the  
island was falling. This caused all of their vines to fling upward,  
leaving them barely hanging on. Sonic himself was about to slip off,  
when suddenly, it jerked to a stop. The vines flung downward, as the  
mobians crashed into the lake below once again.

"*cough* Ugh, I HATE WATER!" Sonic shouted angrily. Silver Sonic stood  
next to him, his robotics self-cleaning itself of any debris from the  
lake. Metal Sonic helped Shadow climb out from the lake. The black  
hedgehog glanced up, and his eyes widened.

"What the hec?!" he nearly shouted.

Directly in front of them, ripping out from the lush, green grass, was  
a skyscraper. Lights shone from the windows, some fizzing out due to  
the massive pressure of the island. An advertisement for "Chaos Soda"  
loosely hung off of it.

"Wha... what happened?" Sonic asked in wonder. Silver Sonic turned to  
their left, and prepared to take off.

"FOLLOW ME. WE SHALL FIND OUT." he said before taking off.

Sonic glanced at Shadow, shrugged, then followed his silver  
counterpart. Shadow and Metal Sonic joined him soon after.

They again rushed through the jungle, past the remains of the Titan,  
and out through the gate to where Red Mountain once was.

Instead of finding the familiar bridge, they found ripped peices of  
wood, the altar crashed against the side of a mountain on the island,  
and their friends scattered everywhere. None of the fellow Mobians  
were in good shape. They all appeared to be in a state of exhaustion,  
confusion, and shock. But that wasn't what concerned the four  
hedgehogs the most. Before them, off the edge of Angel Island, was a  
large array of city lights. Skyscrapers had slammed into the island's  
side, and advertisements hung everywhere. G.U.N. choppers and robots  
seemed to come out of nowhere, patrolling the area, along with a  
chopper from some news reporters. A familiar, red, iron bridge  
stretched before them, as part of an obvious highway. Sonic groaned  
while Shadow and the Metal Sonics stared in shock.

Angel Island had crashed on top of Radical Highway.

**A/N: OK, so I'm going to be using some music and themes during the**  
**most epic fight scenes. Some of you may reconize this as a method used**  
**by Syaoron the Fox.**

**Now about the chapter: AH HAHAHAHA! ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER! This was by**  
**far the most epic chapter yet. It took soooooooooo long to write, not**  
**because of it's length, but because of all the ideas I mushed into it.**  
**Whew, thats the first time I wrote about Angel Island slamming into Radical Highway, or Sonic taking on an entire level (Red Mountain) XD **

**I'm somewhat satisfied with this one, unless there's a problem I**  
**missed (if there is, plz inform me). Please review, and mention any**  
**possible things I can improve on.**

**Seeyuz!**

**-Gnat1**


	7. Chaos Clash

**A/N: This chapter may be shorter than the rest, but here goes...**

**Disclaimer: The only things I own are Echo, Paradox, and this plot.**

**-Chapter 7: Chaos Clash-**

**Time: Unknown**

**Location: Mystic Ruins**

"I've rested long enough, can I go now?" Tails asked impatiently.

Paradox approached him. "You still need time to heal..." he trailed  
off when he saw that most of Tails' wounds had faded.

"Wait... how... how did you heal that quickly?" he asked.

"Maybe Tikal helped somehow." Tails replied. He wasn't entirely sure  
about it, though. He just wanted to help his friends.

"Very well, come! We must act on our plan immediately!" Paradox said  
urgently as he led the kit out from the room. They moved down an  
outside group of steps, and on to the main road, where clusters of  
echidnas walked aimlessly. Paradox quickly slipped through the crowd,  
and led Tails to the outskirts of the village. They came to a small  
garden where a number of Chao were wandering about, or sleeping. They  
crossed a marble bridge, and came to a large fountain made of the same  
substance. At the top of the fountain lay the Master Emerald, along  
with the Seven Chaos Emeralds. Tails, seeing them, quickly ran up a  
cluster of stairs, with Paradox close behind him.

"Didn't the Master Emerald get disintegrated?" the kit asked.

"In your timeline, yes. Now remember the plan." Paradox said in a  
serious tone. As he spoke, he spun his hands around, causing a small  
portal to appear behind Tails.

Tails nodded as the emeralds fixed an aim at him.

"As soon as you absorb the energies, dive through the portal. Find  
Sonic, and allow him to absorb a certain amount of Chaos Energy. When  
he engages his super form, the two of you should be able to fight  
Echo." Paradox exclaimed further.

**[Music Playing: Solaris, by Crush 40 and Zebrahead]**

Tails felt a tweak of nervousness take him as the emeralds fired a ray  
at his body, engulfing him in a blinding light. His orange fur  
developed a slight glow to it, as a red, flowing cape appeared tied to  
his neck. He had become Turbo Tails*.

He turned and nodded at Paradox, then dove through the portal.

VvVvVvV

**Time: 7:13 PM**

**Location: Angel Island, crashed into Radical Highway.**

Tails flew out of the other end of the portal, which was suspended in  
the night sky. He gasped as he gazed at Angel Island.

The center had been stabbed through by a skyscraper, like an animal  
impaled by a spear. The island had torn in half and wedged between  
more buildings, suspending a dense jungle over the crowded streets of  
the city below. The smaller island had collapsed on top of the eastern  
side of the larger island.

"What... what...?" was all the kit could say. He then rocketed down to  
the island.

He flew over thick clusters of tropical tree's and plants, before  
reaching the islands' east side. He found Sonic, along with almost all  
of his friends, locked in intense battle with Echo.

VvVvVvV

Sonic grunted as another wave of ground slammed into him. Echo then  
formed an earthly, twisted spiral around him, and had it grow across  
the island, tightening the spiral in hopes of crushing the Mobian.  
Sonic picked up his speed and ran up the spiral, almost in a spinning  
direction. He could be seen as just a small blue flash firing up the  
twisted mass of earth that wanted desperately to make his grave. His  
speed increased as he reached the end of the spiral, soaring out of  
it's end. He flew through the air and landed in a rough cluster of  
bushes. He got up and prepared to deal a few good blows on the  
salamander. Wait, where was he? He looked around quickly, and suddenly  
felt his back get engulfed by intense heat. He screamed as it's force  
rocketed him out of the island. He soared through the air at intense  
speeds before smashing through the window of a large building. Tails  
saw this and quickly made his way over, worried that his brother could  
be injured by the blow.

Echo chuckled before making his way to Silver, Blaze, and Bolt.

"None of you understand..." he hissed. "The three of you were meant to  
serve me!"

"Whoa, hold up, slimy!" Bolt shouted, annoyed. "Do you honestly think  
we would want to serve you after what you did to us?"

Echo scowled. "Thats big talk, especially for someone who isn't even  
aware of her own origins."

Silver growled. "Look, I have no idea what you mean by that, but we're  
all pretty sure about our origins."

"Are you?" Echo questioned. "Silver, where on earth did your powers  
come from? Mammoth Mogul never really taught you, and it isn't just an  
'advanced characteristic' of yours." He turned to Bolt. "Bolt the  
Element-hog? Really now? You realize that there is no such thing as an  
Element-hog. You were not born with your pathetic powers. What about  
you, Blaze the Cat? How did your flame-powered attacks originate? Was  
it from that gem on your head? The power of Iblis?" he sighed and  
gazed at the three of them. "The answer to all of these is No. Long  
ago, when I first retrieved these powers, I couldn't contain it all. I  
was forced to take out three small portions of my powers and separate it across three individuals. The four of us share a connection, children. Remember earlier today when you all suffered  
from pains in the head?"

The Mobians remained silent.

"Well... it is because all of the energy I was using at the time was  
connected to you three." He continued, and motioned to the ruined  
parts of Angel Island. "Look around you. Look at the destruction. None  
of you will survive. But... I have the power to spare you. All three  
of you, and even your friends and family..." he held his hands out to  
them. "But I need you to join me. Join me in what you were all  
originally modified to complete."

Blaze glared at the salamander.

"No." she snapped. "I don't care if you kill all of us. I don't care  
if you can save us. I will never, ever assist you." Silver and Bolt  
nodded in agreement.

**[Music Stops]**

Echo was silent. He stared at the three for a minute.

"...Very well." he growled as his rich, slimy skin began to surge with  
chaos energy, the green aura becoming increasingly stronger.

"If you won't help, there is no need for you to live." his strange  
voice hissed as he prepared to unleash an Ultimate Chaos Spear.

"Ultimate..." he began.

"CHAOS BLAST!" another voice interrupted as a blast of golden chaos  
energy engulfed him. He slammed into the ground and choked in the  
surrounding dust. When it cleared, he made out the forms of Super  
Sonic and Turbo Tails.

"Alright jerk, let's end this." Super Sonic growled.

**[Music Playing: Sonic Youth, by Crush 40]**

Echo attempted to fly up to a more easier position, but was stopped by  
a red chaos spear, courtesy of Shadow. He growled and flung himself at  
Super Sonic. Said golden hedgehog dodged, causing Echo to ram into  
Turbo Tails, who had been charging a chaos projectile, and released it  
upon impact. The sheer force flung Echo into the jungle of Angel  
Island, but not before he managed to make an army of Earth Warriors.

Tails Doll let off several blasts at the monsters, with a chaos blast  
from Shadow. Knuckles charged through, using a boulder as a battering  
ram, and prepared to attack. However, his enemies were instantly  
obliterated as a large laser took them out. Knuckles glanced up to see  
the Egg Carrier Mark II overhead.

"Er... thanks?

Meanwhile, Super Sonic flew up to a G.U.N chopper overhead. He came up  
to the side of the window.

"I need you guys to evacuate this part of the city, things are about  
to get messy." he said quickly. The pilot nodded and gave him a  
thumbs-up before driving his flying machine over to the rest of his  
team, and they began work on clearing out all of the city's  
inhabitants.

Turbo Tails was having a hard time against his opponent. He had flown  
into the jungle where they had slammed Echo, and he was learning the  
hard way that that wasn't a good move. Echo moved through the tree's  
like lightning, too quick for Tails' eyes to detect. Tails then fired  
a shot of energy where he assumed Echo would land next.

Bullseye.

The blast slammed Echo head-on, causing him to turn in the wrong  
direction and slam into a palm tree. Echo swore as he skidded across  
the ground. He then shot back up and slammed into Tails, and pushed  
the two of them into a lake. Echo continued pushing Tails, even when  
they got underwater. Tails could feel his air leave him as he  
struggled underwater, being restrained by Echo, who continued to push  
him downward. Tails had no choice but to helplessly watch the  
amphibian's cold stare as the water swarmed around them. It wasn't  
long before Tails felt the slimy bottom of the lake as Echo then began  
to push him through the ground. Thoughts whirled through the kit's  
mind as he realized his enemy was planning on keeping him there until  
life left his very lungs. He winced as Echo's strong gripped pushed  
down into his chest, nearly crushing it and causing him to lose even  
more air. Just as he was about to give up hope, he saw a gold flash  
appear in the murky depths and drill into the ground. Sonic couldn't  
see his friend in the dark water, but he knew what he had to do. He  
continued burrowing into the base of the lake until he shot out of the  
bottom of Angel Island. He saw the intense street lights below as  
Angel Island, hanging overhead, threatened to crush them. If Sonic's  
calculations were correct, the hole he created would cause that whole  
part of Angel Island to collapse, causing Tails and Echo to fall, and  
free his friend. He felt bad destroying Angel Island, but if it meant  
having to save his brother, he would smash the entire island into  
oblivion.

As he predicted, the island did collapse. The millions of tons of  
earth dumped over the street, and Sonic saw Tails fall along with it.  
He zipped over and caught his friend, who was now unconscious. He flew  
up to the half of Angel Island that hadn't been decimated, and where  
his friends were. As he flew over, he quickly looked around for  
Shadow. Upon finding him, he rushed over to the ebony hedgehog in a  
blink.

Shadow had a slightly concerned look upon seeing Tails' unconscious form, and nodded at Sonic, before charging a large  
amount of Chaos Energy. He then put his hands over Tails.

"Chaos Re-energize, and Chaos Heal." he murmured as the energy surged  
into Tails, healing the kit's wounds and restoring his Chaos Energy.

"T-Thanks." he managed to say before following Sonic after Echo.

Sonic breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his little bro was okay.  
They then flew over to the pile of uprooted tree's and soil that now  
flooded the streets. Echo burst out of it after some time, and charged  
up a good amount of energy before charging at Sonic and Tails. The  
duo repeated their opponent, causing a head-on collision. Neither  
force was pushing each other as the three powerful figures roared as  
they pushed their power to it's limits. Sonic and Tails slowly gained  
the upper hand, and began to push Echo towards a large skyscraper,  
with a large "Chao in Space" poster hanging from it. The duo gained  
enough speed to slam the salamander through the windows and into a  
wall on the inside. Sonic felt the building begin to fall with the  
sheer force of their power. He then glared at Echo.

"So long, forget to write." he growled as the entire structure began  
to collapse.

Suddenly, Shadow and Silver appeared via Chaos Control. Silver began  
to hold the wall up with his telekinesis.

**[Music Stops]**

"Oho no, Sonic. We're not going to let him slip by." Silver said,  
with slight humor in his voice.

"No, we're gonna make sure he's gone... for good." Shadow hissed as he  
stared into Echo's eyes. The black hedgehog had a red aura surrounding  
him as the Chaos Energy grew around his body. He then uttered his two  
most powerful, lethal words:

"Chaos Rift."

A black sphere, composed of pure Chaos power, then shot out of  
Shadow's body, and surrounded the amphibian. It then slowly closed  
around him, until it disappeared.

"If I'm correct, and I always am, Echo has just been wiped out of  
reality." Shadow announced. Silver felt a sense of pity for the  
salamander, as did the others, but that didn't keep him from smiling.

"Heh heh, I miss him already." Sonic joked, in a worn out voice. He  
couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt a strange feeling in him,  
as if his body was ready to crumble to pieces. He brushed it aside and  
shared a laugh with his three friends, while cheers erupted from their  
friends back on Angel Island, and surprisingly, the Egg Carrier.

Finally, they could rest... or could they?

VvVvVvV

A distance away, a strange mist floated away from the city. An all-too  
familiar voice seemed to run through it.

"You see a victory... but you have no idea what you have just done. At  
last... I am free."

** ...THE END?**

**A/N: *Turbo Tails is Tails' chaos energy form in the Archie comics.**

**WOOHOO! ITS DONE! Yeah, it was crazily short, but that's because**  
**it was just the prologue! Yep, that's right. This was never intended to**  
**be long, but just to prepare you for the next story. Keep an eye out**  
**for The Echo: Awakening.**

**Now, to answer reviews of the last chapter!**

** TatlTails, thanks, and I fixed up the spelling errors you mentioned!**

** Duskzilla, I actually had an idea like that for a while, but couldn't**  
**put him in this chapter with the way the story is going. HOWEVER, I'm**  
**planning on having him appear in either The Echo: Awakening or The New**  
**Recruits. Thanks for the idea!**

**Special thanks to all the awesome readers/reveiwers of this story:**

**Tails absolution**

**LordoftheGhostKing28**

**ExotheBoss**

**Werehog20**

**BlueDragonSpirit6**

**TatlTails**

**HyperTomboi429**

**Sonicfangamer2-Daniel the Fox**

**...And Duskzilla!**

**YOU GUYS ROCK! And another special thanks to HyperTomboi429 for**  
**letting me use Bolt!**

**So... I'm not sure when I'll start Awakening, as I am taking a quick**  
**break from my other fanfics to write a Christmas special, but it will**  
**probably come around late December, or early January. Thanks for**  
**reading!**

**Ciao!**

**-Gnat1**

**It doesn't matter what you say, but how you do it.**


End file.
